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Morningstar Virus
Introduction Morningstar is a fictional member of the Filoviridae family of viruses. It is a strain of the Marburg genera which infected workers in Germany, 1967. The virus is named for Lucifer, in an homage to its unique symptoms. History The discovery of the family Filoviridae in 1967 did not include Morningstar. Instead, a far tamer cousin, Marburg, managed to break free from the equatorial jungles and work its way into the heart of Europe before making its debut on the world stage. Later, the genera Ebola was added to the family tree, and a decade after that, Morningstar. The first samples of Morningstar were gathered from bat guano on an expedition to the Congo river basin in 1983. At first, it was mistaken for Marburg. Samples labeled as such were shipped internationally to research laboratories. Test animals injected with the virus soon showed behavioral anomalies previously unconnected with viral hemmorhagic fever. Instead of lapsing into near-catatonia as fever overtook them, the animals became ferocious and overactive. A closer look was taken at the samples, and in early spring of 1983 Morningstar was officially added as a strain of the Marburg virus. Subsequent trips to the same area of the Congo failed to locate any further samples. Three major research laboratories--the Centers for Disease Control, USAMRIID and the Deucalion Co-operative--have studied the disease, each to a different end. The CDC ran endless epidemic scenarios and concluded, incorrectly, that the virus would burn itself out before reaching more populated areas. USAMRIID evaluated it from the perspective of defense and concluded it would make for an unwieldy at best weapon, and that samples were rare enough that an enemy getting his hands on it was unlikely. The Deucalion Co-operative attempted to figure out a way to utilize the virus's ability to alter the metabolism of its host. Infected persons could last upwards of a month with little to no sustenance. The organization saw a potential end to world hunger. Unfortunately, their research, too, came for naught. They were interrupted by the pandemic of the very same virus they studied. Transmission Morningstar is zoonotic, meaning that it can be transmitted by mammals, not unlike rabies. Avians do not carry Morningstar. The most common form of transmission is exchange of bodily fluids via a bite by a symptomatic carrier. Morningstar is not airborne. It cannot be transmitted by breathing the same air as an infected individual. It can, however, be rendered temporarily aerosol by a gunshot wound or similarly traumatic event. In this case the virus survives for a short period of time, then dies. Outside of the body, Morningstar can only last an hour or so, unless somehow protected from the elements. Exposure to direct sunlight kills it in minutes. Incubation Like Marburg, Morningstar has an incubation period ranging from five to nine days, in the event a person has come into contact with a minimal amount of the virus. However, if the victim's exposure is high enough, the incubation period can dramatically decrease, to a matter of hours. Symptoms The first symptoms of Morningstar resemble the flu. Muscle pain, hot and cold flashes, fever, and nausea are the most common initial effects. Eventually the fever burns hot enough to render the victim near-comatose; it is in this stage that any uninfected person should consider restraining the victim. The fever results in rapidly-increasing delirium, which eventually becomes dementia. The dementia manifests in a form similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Victims can no longer access many higher brain functions. Among the symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease that Morningstar victims share are: rapidly progressing dementia, memory loss, speech loss, jerky movements (myoclonus), balance and coordination dysfunction (ataxia), change in gait, rigid posture, involuntary movements and seizures. The victim becomes hyperreactive to external stimuli, save those emanating from fellow victims. In this phase, infected persons become overtly hostile to anything nearby that draws their attention. Violent attacks will occur unless the victim is properly restrained. Such attacks are obviously undesirable, as any contact with the victim's saliva or blood could lead to subsequent infection. *Information from Z A Recht Author descript What is the "Morningstar Strain"? The short answer: it's a virus.The long answer is a bit more complicated.The Morningstar Strain is a filovirus--that is, a 'thread-like' virus. Filoviruses are among the world's deadliest and most mysterious organisms, and scientists are only recently learning the details of them. All viruses have a point of origin. That is, there is a place on the planet that they call "home." In the case of Morningstar, its home is the Congo river basin. Where in the basin? No one knows. No one knows how it got out of the basin and into the general population.The most likely explanation is that it jumped species. Viruses are able to live in certain species without harming them, and form a kind of natural equilibrium with the host. The host never becomes symptomatic, and the virus lives on in its new mobile home. As the virus multiplies and dies inside the host, many generations pass. Over the generations, the virus will begin to mutate, taking on new characteristics. The Morningstar Strain most likely lived in a host similar to that of a human being--a primate. A monkey, gorilla, orangutan--any could have carried the virus for years without falling ill. As the primate lived, the virus mutated inside it. Perhaps a human being captured one, or killed one, or had fecal matter thrown on him by an ill-tempered monkey from a tree branch. The virus found a new host--one that was entirely susceptible to its new genetic structure.As the human host left the jungle with the virus in his or her bloodstream, things would begin to pick up speed. The virus would begin to multiply, spreading to the areas of the body it prefers. In the case of Morningstar, the brain, mouth, genitals, and heart are the preferred organs, in that order.It takes a little over a week before any symptoms become apparent.The host becomes contagious around day three. The obvious epidemiological problems should be all too apparent--the host wanders among people for four to seven days with the capability to spread the virus, but while showing no symptoms of any kind. Factor in that a filovirus is very hard to detect unless one knows what they are looking for, and you have a recipe for disaster.By day eight or nine after initial infection, the host develops a bad headache, and begins to suffer from unpredictable mood swings, usually negative in nature. Day ten to eleven brings out advancing symptoms including a dangerously high fever, which begins to burn the victim's brain from the inside. They fall into a kind of trance, and begin to lose their capacity for higher thought.By day thirteen, most victims have succumbed fully. At this point, they are completely in the grip of the virus. They become openly hostile to anything around them that is alive and uninfected. They will attack without warning, but the attack is a feral and undisciplined one. They will attempt to scratch or bite their victims, and though a single attacker rarely kills his victim outright (the sight of a victim's blood seems to calm them), a group of infected persons could quite literally tear a person to pieces.There is a concept known as "fevered strength." In essence, a person running a high fever is working on adrenaline and lacks the capacity for doubt or rationality. A carrier of the Morningstar Strain who has made hostile overtures towards you WILL attack, and when he or she does so, it will be with fevered strength. They are swift, deadly, and have lost the capacity for remorse or regret.It should be noted at this point that there are two separate incubation periods for the disease. The week-long method described above is pertinent only if the victim is infected through fluid contact such as sexual intercourse, eating contaminated foods, or a minor scratch or cut.If a victim is badly bitten or scratched, or if a sufficient amount of virus is introduced to the victim's body, the incubation period is substantially reduced. What takes a week through normal methods of infection is reduced to a matter of hours through traumatic introduction of the virus.Once the virus has achieved dominance in its host, it begins a series of subtle changes to the physiology of the host. The metabolic system is slowed, and the host no longer needs to sleep, eat, or drink as much as he or she did when uninfected. In addition, the virus seems to cause the body's unneeded tissues (some fats, certain muscles and organs) to begin producing the needed amino acids necessary to fuel the body itself. In essence, the virus feeds its host, keeping it alive as long as possible.And now, we come to the most interesting aspect of the Morningstar Strain.The host cannot live forever. At some point, it will die, either from exposure, exhaustion, heatstroke, violence, et al. At this time, the virus finds itself threatened. Without a host, it too will die. The need to spread to a new host rises to the top priority. It ceases metabolic tinkering and begins using remaining energy to fire synapses in the brain tissue of the host.Anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours after death, the host reanimates.It is no longer human. Rather, it is merely an automated corpse, running on autopilot, controlled indirectly by the virus. The actions of the corpse are motor reflexes spurred by the commands of the viral infection. Victims who have reached this stage are easy to identify. As the virus has concentrated its efforts on the brain, and as the body itself is dead, the unneccesary tissues begin to decay. Skin, hair, and internal organs with the exception of the heart and lungs suffer decay at a normal rate. The virus concentrates itself in the organs it needs and continues metabolic tinkering, preserving the brain, heart, and lungs for as long as possible.The zombies--now that the host has died, the term becomes more suitable than 'carrier' or 'host'--move slowly, with a distinctive, almost drunken, shambling walk. They behave in much the same manner as their living brethren, only much less dextrously. They are still openly hostile, and twice as repulsive. As they decay, they may leak bodily fluids. These fluids are teeming with the virus.The host goes on either living or undead until the brain is destroyed, disabling the virus' method of controlling the host.